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Greg Venom
Greg Venom Greg Venom Greg Venom Greg Venom Greg Venom Greg Venom (Born Greg Kelso Brander 11th April 1975) Is a British (Welsh) professional wrestler He was held the staff position of Creative writer in the now defunct FSW. He is currently working his second stint in Ultimate Championship Wrestling where he is part of the tag team BROS with his twin brother Doctor Ian. Early Life (1975 – 1993) Greg Kelso Brander was born one of twins; he is 8 minutes older than his brother Ian Leslie. Himself and Ian were their parent’s only children and the pair grew up in the Welsh valleys, which was famous for its coalmines and very little else. The only relief for the brothers were Saturday afternoons when they got to watch Saturday Afternoon Wrestling (SAW) they both instantly became hooked. Unlike Ian Greg was never on a great intellectual level in school although he did excel in the physical aspect. During secondary school, the two brothers met another young man who shared their passion for the business. The mysterious student earned the nickname Renegade from his peers, due to his lack of respect for authorities but liked the discipline wrestling gave him. The three of them enrolled into a local wrestling school in Newbridge, The Rosemary Davies School of Wrestling, in 1989 and began training for their hopeful future. Like Renegade and Ian Greg took to the ring like a duck to water although Ian was more of a brawler in the ring Greg and Renegade took the approch of daredevil - lucha libre style. It was also there Greg met a girl by the name of Taylor Monroe they instantly clicked and worked a few mix tag team practices. Greg also used a small course of steriods during his early days as a traniee. He told of this on a British Wrestling documentary entitled “Wresting In The UK.” “When I started training at sixteen or seventeen I was a hell of a lot smaller than the guys I was working with, I needed a quick fix and the gym was not an option all the time so I started jabbing myself in the arse with steriods. I used it for about a month but within a week I seen a huge difference. I think the teachers picked up on it because mantatory drug testing started. I got someone to piss in a cup for me or I would have had a short career. After that I got myself cleaned up.” It was just after that Greg started dating Taylor’s younger sister Kelly, for a year or so they were pretty much inseprable but Greg was always going to follow his dream and broke Kelly’s heart due to his first love of wrestling. In March 1993 in a dodgy ring in a Cardiff Lesiure center Greg had his first match jobbing against “Bigtime.” James Jones. Luckily for Greg his work ethic paid of as a scout from a Yorkshire Wrestling company The British Wrestling Federation (BWF) offered Greg the chance to come and work for them. Just after his eighteenth birthday Greg stood in Cardiff train station with his brother Ian and friend Rengade and headed for pastures unknown in Leeds to live out his dream in the Britsh Wrestling Federation. Wrestling Career Early Career (1993 – 1998) Greg started his career in the BWF as a young naïve rookie working as The Little Red Dragon. This involved him wearing all red, red boots and red spandex. For a while he wore a mask, The dragon gimmick really associated him with his Welsh roots. Greg took many bumps because of his size and not many people were willing to put him over. Greg though made his impact through interview and promo work, which won him many fans. After a few months though Greg dropped the mask and he told why in his FSW DVD “GregKind That’s why I’m Crazy. He said. “Not all the guys in the back liked the dragon gimmick they felt the mask I was wearing was disrespecting the Mexicans, I seen their point but I felt the dragon kept me close to Wales. It was also said that I lost the mask for that reason, that wasn’t true. I put the mask away because in the ring once against Howard Cann I couldn’t breathe, that frightened the crap out of me after that I got rid of the mask and went under the name “Dragon” Gregg Kelso. I hated the two G’s on my name but hey I was getting paid.” Just after Greg lost the mask in early 1994 he had his first shot at gold against Jason Mane in a ladder match for the Television title. It was a back and forth match which Greg won thanks to a leg drop from the top of the ladder. It was his first bit of professional gold. He only held the belt for two weeks due to leg and knee damaged he sustained while jumping from the top of the ladder. He put Jason Mane back over the second week. Greg and a wrestler by the name of Karl Thomas formed the tag team the young Taffs as both were from Wales and young. They won the tag titles early on when they defeated Doug and Rob the Battle Brothers, Both Greg and Karl had a long stint as tag champs until Karl won the British Championship turning on Greg setting up the biggest feud in BWF history. Then at the BWF PPV Random Warfare Greg squared off against Karl in the first BWF No Holds Barred match. Greg became the champion after throwing Karl off the stage and hitting a dragon splash from the top of the stage. (Later to be known as the Venom Splash in which with the same move he defeated Doctor Ian in UCW) On the GregKind DVD Greg said. “That was one of my best matches to date, myself and Karl tore the house down with that match, its been called the best feud in the BWF I think it was the greatest match as well.” Following the match Greg carried the British championship for six months until he got a call from his brother Ian Leslie who had set him up for an interview with Jack Turney for the WHH Greg was about to live his dream in America. When Greg joined WHH himself and Ian were pushed into the Tag Team division Greg was now woorking under the name of Wrestler Greg, Ian was Wrestler Ian” BROS was born due to a dodgy 90’s boy band. They rose quickly through the tag ranks, and defeated the then tag champs for the gold “Chaos” – Jackson Steele and Jim Gardner. The two became the quickest ever tag team to win the gold together since debuting, Ian’s gamble on Greg paying off. They originally held the tag gold for three months, before being defeated by the Levins Foundation. Following the defeat, BROS slipped off the tag team radar for a few months, but once again they challenged for the gold when a pair of brothers held the gold. The Lee Brothers, better known as the Dragon’s were a marital art specialist tag team where were flying high with the gold. BROS capitalised with their silent almost telepathist understanding with each other and soon became two time tag champs. They held the belts this time for six months before again losing to the Levins Foundation. During this time, Turney decided to try the brothers out in singles action. Ian first won singles gold, winning the Intercontinental Championship from Jim Gardner. Ian held the belt for two months before being defeated by M. Prower for it. Ian and Prower went at a little feud for a while, the Intercontintal Championship traded between the two, two more times with Ian becoming a two time Champion in that period. Meanwhile Greg was recovering from a broken knee cap and broken pelvis, it involved six to eight months rehabiliation On Greg’s return to the ring Turney found some tag teams leaving him during the period of 1996 and BROS once again got pushed into the tag division. Team SX was a tag team the staff of WHH liked but never got over with the fans, so with the reunited BROS winning the championship, WHH fans went into a wild frenzy. BROS held the championship for just over a month this time, ironically losing the belts to The Dragons. In early 1998, WHH began to dwindle and Greg got the chance to become the WHH Intercontinetal Champion and he took it by defeating WHH Veteran Sam King, the same night his brother Ian became WHH World Champion. Greg held the belt consistantly for six months before he dropped it to SX member James Coburn. Greg felt a twinge in his knee and found out he needed more constructive surgery, He left the WHH after his contract was terminated three weeks before the company shut for business. Japan Mexico Europe (1998 –2001) Greg had a brief stint working Japan and Mexico under his now famous name Greg Venom. He enjoyed the highflying challenge that Japan and Mexico gave him. The fans enjoyed his style and promoter for JWA Hito Kusaki signed Greg on a yearlong contract. Greg worked his contract for 6 months before he had an offer from Vince Kutner who was a English promoter looking to take his small independent circuit EWA (English Wrestling Alliance) onto a European tour. Greg accepted and headed over to Portugal for his first show. Once he arrived he met up with former WHH Legend Paul Levins whose career was slowly coming to an end. Levins and Greg toured Europe together. Greg Venom talked of his time on the European circuit with Levins on his GregKind “That’s why I’m Crazy DVD “The European Tour I did for Vince Kutner was one of the best wrestling experiences of my life. I travelled all over Europe with Paul Levins and everyone on the tour bonded like brothers. I can remember working with Levins for about three weeks straight every night would have a different finish, sometimes he would put me over and other nights I would return the favour. I’d love to work a stint in Europe again one day.” Greg worked between Europe and Japan from late 1998 until the beginning of 2001 where Greg returned to Wales to train some of the next generation of talent in his former wrestling school The Rosemary Davies School of Wrestling. He did this until about the September of 2001. He then once again got a call from his brother Ian and got the chance to work in America again for the FSW (Five Star Wrestling) Five Star Wrestling 2001 –2002 Greg wasn’t due to make an appearance at the first FSW show Hostile Takeover but shocked the world when he entered the Battle Royal to help his brother Ian (now working the character Doctor Ian) from getting eliminated early on. Greg changed his gimmick to a one of a kind human being with a below average IQ. He became known as GregKind. Early on in FSW Greg felt tension with staff and owner Jonah James; in his second or third match he had a shot at the Atlantic Championship against Bob Job in which Greg had to put him over. Greg didn’t like it but in his professionalism he did his job so Bob could win the Atlantic Championship. A few weeks later when Bob put in a resignation letter Greg was placed in a match with him and won the Atlantic title. During this period, Chris Slade joined FSW ranks. Slade, along with his faction, joined FSW with Slade quickly aligning with Justice. Slade, Justice and Jamaar D’Angelo began a war on FSW, making Doctor Ian, GregKind and Renegade fall into line. The troops came together for a while and Greg and Renegade won the FSW Tag Team titles which they held for a while before they dispanded. During the feud with Jamar D Angelo and Chris Slade Greg got himself in trouble for using racial remarks during one of his in ring promos. Greg said. “I don’t care what you think Slade you and your buddy Jamar D Angelo are going to get beaten all over the arena especially that Black piece of shit.” When Greg got back to the gorilla position he was instantly called to the office of owner Jonah James and suspended without pay. Greg said on his UCW DVD One Form of Poison. “I went out there pilled out of my brain and gave this awful promo where along the way I called Jamar D Angelo something racist. I didn’t even realise I’d said it until I was called to the office’s and was shown a tape of my promo. I’m not a racist but for some reason I’d come out with it. I think if I wasn’t on the creative side of things I’d have been sacked on the spot. All that did was boost the ratings.” That wasn’t Greg’s only contraversy in FSW he also got involved in not following orders from the booker when he faced a superstar called Mavis. Greg was suppose to put him over but towards the finish but ended up putting Mavis into his finishing hold making him tap. Greg said in his UCW DVD. “Mavis was well overrated and there was no way I was going to put him over. I was better than him and I wanted him and everyone in the back to know it. The motherfucker tapped like a bitch and went back in the locker room crying to his buddy Justice. I didn’t care and if I had to do it again I would. I think Mavis packed his bags after that.” Greg though did have memrorable matches and feuds in FSW one was with Malik O’Hare, a man who was managed by Doug Barker. Greg and Malik had many matches throughout the peak of UCW but GregKind being the one of a kind human he was, was carrying his kit bag in his promo and threw a brick through the front window of Malik’s car which infurated Malik even more. During their feud Greg and Malik done a joint promo where they were playing cards together and after an insidant in the card game they bralwed all the way through an arena of a house show. Greg had even more contraversy in FSW when roster member Bulmar made his debut, Greg went stiff on him and damaged Bulmers arm and shoulder and finshed Bulmers FSW career before it had started. Greg then continued to work until its closure in 2002. On his time in FSW Greg said “FSW was cool I suppose, I made a few good friends there and had my greatest feud ever with Malik O Hare. I loved working with him he was such an easy guy to work with. FSW had its bad points though. You had someone like Justice who tried to run the locker room his way while Jonah was trying to run it another. I was never Justice’s biggest fan, if he didn’t get what he wanted he would bitch and moan I think he was the Chris Bomber of FSW. Jutice never wanted to put anyone over other than yakutuz. FSW was a place to be if you wanted to work hard, other than that it was full of politics and I never want to work in that kind of atmosphere again.” eWa and EFW (2002 –2003) A Short stint in the eWa was Greg’s short time back in the buisness, following his exit from FSW he rested and recuparated back home in Wales but wanted to show a few young students of the sport a real run promotion. EWa was that spot and the G Squad were born. He worked once again under the alias of GregKind but with a little more intellegance. He quickly became the veteran but his time in eWa was shortly lived as the company folded only a few weeks after his arrival. It took a good eight months before Greg once again returned to the ring but it happened in the EFW. Greg had two matches there, his debut was against a wrestler known as Nasty Nate. Greg who was still working as GregKind and had no problems disposing of the overconfident Nate. His second match was scheduled even though he had asked for leave due to a nagging neck injury. When Greg lost he marched straight to the office and handed in his resignation letter leaving EFW to its own peril. A Brief Stay in UCWF (2005) Greg got a call from his brother Doctor Ian in the summer of 2005 he had a president position in Farris Force’s UCWF. Ian offered Greg a chance to talk to Force about a return to the ring. When Farris and Greg were happy with the paper work he was the newest superstar in UCWF. In his first match he was placed against Latrisha Lamarte then known as Miss Perfect. Greg was bored with the old GregKind gimmick and thought back to Japan and Mexico where he blew the crowd away when he was working as Greg Venom. He then worked under the Alias Greg Venom. The match with Miss Perfect was a tough match for Greg but his debut in UCWF was a sucessful one he came away the winner. On his way back to the locker room he was jumped from behind and was once again put out of action. It turned out Doctor Ian was the one to jump him in Kayfabe. In reality though Greg said on his UCW DVD One form of poison. “My knee was totally knackered, I knew it a few days before I got in the ring with Latrisha but was determined to make it into a UCWF ring. Tommy DeWitt was signed up luckily enough and UCW never lost a roster member. Ian was the way in and way out.” UCW part one (2006) Greg joined Billy Joe Jr and UCW in mid 2006, he instantly became a hit with the UCW crowd and once again worked under the name Greg Venom. For the first time since UCWF Greg came face to face with Doctor Ian, they had a few words but quickly became great alies defeating Wayne Don and Joey Johnson in their first tag match together since the late nineties in WHH. It had come full circle between the pair since their falling out in UCWF, where Ian put Venom out of action. In the ring, it was like old times for the two of them, their tag team capabilities better than most tag teams. Greg and Doctor Ian became firm allies again. Bros were back in action. During the Redemption PPV, Greg faced Max Roach in a first blood match, Jake Rage did a run in, Greg losing his unbeatan streak. Bros, Greg Venom and Doctor Ian began tagging once again, earning a shot at the Tag Gold, held by Daemon Hawk and his partner Jake Rage. But Rage and Hawk quit UCW, leaving the title vacant, almost messing up the PPV. It was in Cardiff, the capital of Wales where both Venom and Ian were from and they wanted to compete in their hometown. Billy Joe Junior saved the day. Greg Venom was placed in a match against Dax Violent, for the World Championship Number One Contendership in which Greg won. During a shoot interview with British wrestling Channel TWC Greg said. “I didn’t buy Dax’s gimmick, a seventeen year old school kid by day and masked wrestler by night. That was one of the worst gimmicks I’d ever seen in wrestling. I think I shot that guy down so bad that he just lost it following that PPV. I think he had potenial it’s a shame it turned out that way.” Waiting to face Greg with his world title was his brother Doctor Ian. The pair followed a heated battle over the next month, the master mind behind Greg’s sudden evilness was his long time friend Taylor Monroe. Taylor played with Ian's mind, including setting up Nina Estra's niece Natalie, into the hands of Anthoni Young, who believed that Natalie was his own deceased niece Louise Jade Young, the daughter of Ian's close friend Rayne Young. Before the PPV Title match, Greg and Taylor faced Doctor Ian and Nina Estra in a mixed-tag match at UCW Mayhem, Greg and Taylor came out victorious. In the midst of this, Ian pulled off another special. Ian got their old friend Renegade in as the special referee for the World title match at UCW's Havoc. The brothers met at the PPV in November 2006, UCW’s Havoc. With the addition to Ren as the referee, the brothers were placed inside a Hell in a Cell match. With Ren as the referee, it was called down the middle in a anything goes match up. Greg then won his first major World Championship, beating Doctor Ian with a Venom Smash through a table. Before Greg could get to his belt, Ian took it from Renegade, where he handed the belt over to his brother himself, and passing on the flame. The three of them raised their hands in the middle of the ring, the three men from South Wales, all of them being able to reach to the top at one point. Following Havoc Greg left due to change of management. He had one match as champion against “The Icon” Joey Johnson, the match was built up but ended in a no contest with a run in of a few superstars including owner Sebatian Stone. Greg told TWC “That did it for me Stone doing a run in at the end of a match between myself and Joey. I knew he was holding the aces I had to get out, it’s a shame I never got to enjoy being champion.” NCWF (2007) Greg had a brief stay in NCWF working for a man called Brian Light. NCWF was a small company taking on former members of UCW. Greg liked his chances there and had a few matches winning two. On the thrid week Greg was accused of being a no show even though he had asked for a leave of absense. Greg and Brian Light exchanged verbals a few days later when Greg called him a “joke” for the way he treated his wrestlers and the way he ran his company. Greg vowed not to work for light again no matter how lucrative the offer was UHWF (2007) Greg had a brief spell in UHWF where he had a few matches with “Iceman” Riener Wilz. (who was the spitting image of Paul Levins) This lasted for about two months before he blew out his shoulder. When he left to recover from his injury UHWF terminated his contract and he was out of a job. UCW Part 2 (2007 – Present) Greg returned to UCW in late 2007 the company was under the management of Joey Johnson, Michael Valens and Annie Alvarez three people Greg greatly respected. In his return he was placed against Stardust the former Intercontinental Champion, Greg came out the winner but after that victory Greg had a lot of respect for Stardust. The following week he was special guest referee for the match between Doctor Ian and Sunflower. Ian defeated Stardust and was placed in a match against Greg. Unlike the last time the two met Ian was the one to come out victorius and got a buy into the second round of the Goldrush II PPV. In the first round Greg found himself drawn against Peter Gilmour. Greg defeated Peter Gilmour in the first round of the Goldrush, in the second round he defeated a high quality new comer Chip Horton and seen off the seven foot David Jones in the Semi Final. The final seen Greg Venom square off against highly rated Patrick McCarthy in a ladder match. Both men put there bodies on the line and delivered a classic match to the UCW fans. McCarthy though on the night beat Greg to become the new UCW World Champion. Title History *BWF Tag Team Champion *BWF Television Champion *BWF British Champion *WHH Tag Team Champion x3 *WHH Intercontental Champion *FSW Atlantic Champion x3 *FSW Tag Team Champion *UCW World Heavyweight Champion Hall Of Fame Placings *WHH Hall Of Fame *FSW Hall Of Fame Trivia *Greg’s favourite band is Welsh Band The Manic Street Preachers which has been said in many promos. *His current entrance music is Poison By Alice Cooper *Has only been pinned once in UCW by Doctor Ian